Christian Group Plans on Displaying Gruesome Images of Aborted Fetuses In Summer Tour and Is Accused of Being un-Christian

Pro-Life Action League, a Christian group that believes that "sidewalk counseling [outside of abortion clinics] is the most important pro-life work God has given us to do" announced its July "Face The Truth" tour.

The activists plan on lining the streets with signs showing gruesome images of aborted babies, comparing their efforts to reality television shows:

When pro-life witnesses line the roads at selected locations through the month of July, they will display pictures of beautiful preborn babies juxtaposed with huge graphic photographs of aborted babies, visually exposing the tragedy of their tiny broken bodies.

It is a controversial tactic, always generating some level of offended opposition, but it is without doubt an honest one. "It's not pretty," agrees Eric Scheidler of the Pro-Life Action League, the organization that coordinates the Face the Truth tours. Reality TV allows viewers to confront their own fears, weight problems or bad fashion sense, and invites them to change. Through the Face the Truth tour, the pro-life movement allows people to confront the ugly reality of abortion, inviting them to reconsider the issue and do something to try and prevent it.

Scheidler, executive director of the Pro-Life Action League, reports that past Face the Truth tours have generated immediate positive results. "We've had women come to us and thank us," he explained. "With their abortions already scheduled, they saw our pictures and it changed their hearts." And that's why the Pro-Life Action League will continue to organize this important public education campaign.

In its promotional video (below), the group dismisses concerns that the images will bother children, saying that children are naturally pro-life and handle the issue better than adults. Apparently, the group was accused of being un-Christian for exposing children to the signs.

In its blog, a writer named John Jansen defended the practice:

In this post I’d like to focus on another objection that I must admit I find it hard to get my head around. Namely, the charge that showing graphic abortion pictures in public is uncharitable—and even un-Christian—especially because of the supposedly damaging effects it has on children.

Personally, I find it understandable that the average secular person might get upset upon seeing a display of graphic abortion pictures.

But I’m gobsmacked when Christians try to claim that showing the victims of abortion in an effort to awaken people’s consciences is actually contrary to our faith.

As Christians, we know that Our Lord Jesus Christ allowed Himself to be mercilessly scourged, crowned with thorns, and forced to stumble — battered, bloodied, and grotesquely ignominious — through the streets of Jerusalem before being nailed to the Cross. It’s surely safe to assume that there were children among the crowds that day — these were public streets, after all, and the city would have been teeming with families who had come there on pilgrimage for Passover.

About D. Beeksma

One of the growing crowd of American "nones" herself, Deborah is a prolific writer who finds religion, spirituality and the impact of belief (and non-belief) on culture inspiring, fascinating and at times, disturbing. She hosts the God Discussion show and handles the site's technical work. Her education and background is in business, ecommerce and law.